


Roto-Love-You-A'Lotto

by MonsterParade



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions, Pocket Monsters: Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon | Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Versions
Genre: ANYWAY sort of a 'falling in love' thing for the player character, Other, it's time to cement my love for rotom, player character is a TRANS GUY based on me and my experiences, player character will just be called Sun, with rotom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-09
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-01 12:05:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13294500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonsterParade/pseuds/MonsterParade
Summary: Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon player character, gradually developing lovies with Roto Dex. This Pokedex is a good good buddy.





	1. Ghost in the Machine

**Author's Note:**

> Haven't decided if later chapters will have a more mature rating, so please pay attention to notes before chapters if that's not your thing! I'm not sure how much this could be considered 'slow burn', but we'll call it that for lack of a more efficient term, for now? It's just You, the Reader/Player Character, gradually going from friends to more with the Rotom who inhabits your Pokedex.
> 
> (I live for comments. Blease.)

As a native of the much colder region of Sinnoh, the first thing you really learn about traveling in tropical Alola is that camping outside sucks. A lot.  
  
  
Only a few days into your newly-burgeoning island challenge, you've already begun to realize that people hype camping up way more than it deserves, voluntarily bedding down on lumps of rock and ground that was hard or damp underneath a sleeping bag. When you'd set out in the first place, you'd (recklessly) insisted that you were, "a grown-ass man who can figure out how to pitch a tent", and now you were just sleeping in a too-warm bedroll with nothing over your head but the stars, because, of course. You turned out not to be able to pitch a tent.  
  
It's not all bad, though. The people you've met here already are friendly, even sweet, and the wilderness between the towns is lush and green, life nearly bursting. And, you've already made a new best friend.  
  
Lying on your back in your sleeping bag, you turn your head a little and sigh at the little lump of blue fur resting nestled into the dip of your shoulder, a rubbery pink nose pressed smack against your chin. It's your new starter Pokemon, a small, seal-like creature called Popplio. He has round, loving eyes and the cutest little flippers, and the two of you have fallen in love with one another right away. He's comforting in this new place, a little hot water bottle.  
  
________  
  
  
You're woken up the next morning not realizing that you'd ever fallen asleep, lurching upright in a groggy haze and nearly upending Popplio. Something is making an insistent noise, and after a few moments of groping, you hone in on the buzzing as coming from your cell phone, still tucked into your backpack.  
  
"Bwar!" Popplio complains, and hops off of your chest as you lean forward, stretching his flippers and tail while he watches you rummage through your pack.  
  
"Uhh...hullo?"  
  
"Alola, cousin! Good morning!" a cheery voice greets you, and you're just a little more awake as you recognize the speaker.  
  
"Oh! Um, alola, Professor Kukui... Good morning," you reply. It's only been a couple of days since you'd first met the man who'd introduced you to your Popplio, and while you're not really miffed or anything about being woken up, you _are_ a little surprised that he's calling you so soon. You self-consciously run your fingers through your hair. If he's calling to check on your progress, you hope he's not expecting too much. "What can I, uh, do for you?"  
  
It's very bright in Alola at sunrise. Blearily, you squint against the sun and try to pay attention.  
  
"I've got a new surprise for you, my great new Trainer! I think it'll really help you out, yeah, on your island challenge! Think you could stop by my lab when you get the chance?" Kukui asks, and in the background of the phone call you can hear what you think is his Rockruff barking, which you would imagine would be jarring so early in the morning. You rub your eyes.  
  
"Yeah, yes, of course. Uhhm...I think I'm- I'm on some route nearby, I'll hoof it on over there right after breakfast!" you promise. In the corner of your eye, you can see Popplio perk his floppy little ears up at the mention of food, and you give him a silent thumbs-up, watching him scoot around. "Is there any hurry?"  
  
"Not at all! Take your time, cuz, and just come right on in when you get here! We'll see you soon!"  
  
You've said your goodbyes and hung up before you even notice his mention of 'we'. Maybe he's speaking of Rockruff, or another new Pokemon, or his sweet assistant, Lillie. Mealtimes in that house must be a real process.  
  
Setting your phone aside, you turn your body, still in your sleeping bag, and rest your cheek in your hand to address Popplio.  
  
"I guess...we're up? You want a granola bar?"  
  
  
________________  
  
  
The dirt paths around you had been straight-forward enough for you not to get lost, and with the help of your admittedly rusty map-reading skills, you had made your way back to the Professor's beachfront laboratory shortly after breakfast, shooing away a few wild Yungoos (Yungeese?) with the help of Popplio's Water Gun. You stamped the sand off your shoes and knocked on the door.  
  
" _Row! Roww roff roff roww-_ " came the reply, and a moment later the door swung open and Rockruff greeted you, bursting outside to run circles around your feet. Your grinned at him.  
  
"Ah...good morning, Sun, it's nice to see you again."  
  
Standing in the doorway was the Professor's aforementioned assistant, Lillie, and she gave you a small smile and a little nod before gesturing you into the house, scooting Rockruff gently back inside along with you. From his place held in your arms, Popplio cooed softly.  
  
"The professor's just ducked downstairs for a moment...do you need anything?" Lillie asked, standing rather awkwardly with her hands at her sides, and you shook your head as you knelt to set Popplio down, waving him off to let him bounce around with rest of the lab's resident Pokemon.  
  
"No thank you, I'm alright. How are you, Lillie? Where's that little friend of yours?""  
  
Lillie attempted a smile again, this one a little brighter.  
  
"Nebby? He was in the loft a minute ago-" she began, and cut off as a streak of dazzling purple swept down from the loft's ladder and crashed into your midsection, with all the force of a thrown marshmallow. You laughed and pulled a cheering Nebby off of you, doing your best to pet his only semi-solid form.  
  
"There you are! _Good morning,_ little man! How are you?" you cooed, watching the little cloud Pokemon wave his- arms? Ears?- appendages around delightedly in response to your baby-talk. If your home region had had a Pokemon as cute as Nebby available, maybe you would never have even left.  
  
"Nebby! Be careful!" Lillie scolded, but she was still smiling in spite of herself, and her tone had no bite in it.  
  
The door to the basement then abruptly swung open, with Professor Kukui chuckling as he stepped into the room from behind it.  
  
"You guys sure are energetic this morning, aren't you?" he laughed, and shifted the small box he was holding into one hand, closing the basement door behind him again and turning to smile at you. "Good to see you again, Sun! You guys got here fast! Popplio, welcome back!" he added, addressing the little seal Pokemon and giving it an affectionate rub on the head. Popplio barked and clapped his flippers together, delighted.  
  
"Mornin'! So...uh, what's up, Professor? What's the big surprise?" you asked. Tucked under one of your arms, like a basketball, Nebby squealed as well, wriggling around happily. Professor Kukui raised an eyebrow and stepped forward, placing the mysterious tiny box on the edge of his kitchen counter.  
  
"Let me see that Pokedex of yours for a second, won't you, Sun?" he asked, and you carefully untangled Nebby from where he was attempting to wriggle into your tee-shirt sleeve, handing him to Lillie so you could unzip your backpack. The Pokedex you'd been given a few days earlier was tucked inside the front pocket, between a few ziplock bags of sandwiches and a magazine about popular Melemele wildlife. The Dex itself was still mostly untouched, save a few fingerprint smudges.  
  
"Heeeere it is," You passed it to Kukui without any real clue about what he could be doing, and the group of Pokemon on the floor all crowded closer as you all leaned in to watch the professor tinker with it. It made a few loud beeping noises. "Are you giving it an upgrade...?"  
  
"You could say that!" Kukui replied, adding a part from the mystery box to a slot in the back, and you didn't have time to be curious about his evasive answers before a strange pressure filled the room, and all the hair on the back of your neck stood up.  
  
_"Bzz-zzz-zzt!"_  
  
"Whoa! Sorry, Rotom. Guess I startled you. Here, boy! I upgraded your favorite 'Dex! Give it a whirl!"  
  
  
To your credit, you only jumped a little.  
  
"A Rotom?" you asked, uncomprehending but not unhappy. The Pokemon Rotom was first discovered in your home region, so you were fairly familiar with it, although you'd never actually met one in person before due to their relative rarity in Sinnoh.  
  
Professor Kukui started to grin at you.  
  
The Rotom- who'd been in your Pokedex, apparently?- hovered in the air for a moment, taking you all in with wide little eyes, and then darted without warning back into the 'Dex in Kukui's hands, the machine whirring for a moment like an overheated computer.  
  
Rotom were known for their unique ability to possess appliances, and you were no expert, but you were fairly sure that 'Pokedex' wasn't one of their registered forms- but a Pokedex it was, and that Pokedex grew arms and tiny round feet as you watched, blinking open a pair of familiar eyes on a screen whose shape suddenly made more sense.  
  
"H-hey! Nizzze to meet you!" the Rotom said, and its high-definition screen flashed an image of a big, smiling emoji.  
  
It took you a few seconds too long to figure out that it was addressing _you_.  
  
"Bwuh- hi? Oh, my god, nice to meet you too!" you stammered. You looked rapidly between the Professor and your suddenly-sentient Pokedex, feeling an excited buzz start up under your skin, and you took a half-step forward, extending a hand in what started as an exploratory poke, but changed into a handshake once your manners caught up with you. "You're- Rotom, right? I'm Sun! I'm, I'm not sure what's going on, but you're _so cute!_ " you exclaimed. You caught the Rotom's arm in your hand and gave it a gentle up-and-down shake.  
  
"Oh! Thankzz, Sun!"  
  
The emoji on Rotom's screen had disappeared, to be replaced with what you could only guess was the Pokemon's actual mouth, grinning at you from inside the machine.  
  
You looked at Kukui again.  
  
"So is he...?"  
  
"Yeah, he's yours!" Kukui confirmed, and paused a moment to allow for your giddy giggling. "This here's the Rotomdex! A state-of-the-art Pokedex, with a Rotom inside! He'll function as your helper while you're on your island challenge, running the 'Dex and the map for you!"  
  
At your feet, Popplio rose up on his rear flippers and did a joyous flip, and Rotom tilted down to wave at him, squinting its eyes closed in greeting.  
  
"I'll do my very best! Sun! Popplio!" it said. You tittered some more and rose up on your toes.  
  
"It's so wonderful to have you, Rotom- can I hold you? Is that okay?"  
  
In response to your outstretched arms, Rotom hesitated for only a moment before drifting over and allowing itself to be scooped up, the screen displaying its face gaining a pair of pink rectangles on the 'cheeks', as if to mimic a blush. Its Pokedex body was now slightly warm, and made your arms tingle with residual electricity.  
  
"Is thizzz okay?" it asked, cradled in your arms with its screen peering up at you, and it wiggled its feet, almost shyly. If it had been standing, you'd imagine it would have been bashfully scuffing the ground.  
  
God, your melting heart.  
  
"It's wonderful. _You're_ wonderful. He's _perfect!_ "


	2. Getting to Know You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a million years, and I apologize. It's not even as long as the last one, I've just been exhausted lately! But regardless, I hope it turned out okay, and I'll try to get on a much more regular update schedule, now. Enjoy!

"Sssssoooo...Rotom, where are you from?"  
  
  
You'd never been good at making small talk with new people. Pokemon, you'd always found simpler, their intentions clearer and easier for you to understand. Once human speech was incorporated into the mix, however, that made things a lot more complicated- and _nerve-wracking_. You'd been informed by the professor that this "Rotomdex" was going to be traveling along with you for the entire duration of your island challenge. A good first impression was a necessity.  
  
The three of you were on your way back up to the route you'd been on this morning, Popplio napping inside your half-zipped backpack with his nose poking out, your new Rotomdex floating beside you. Upon hearing your question, Rotom turned to face you with a smile and a 'bip bip' sound, seeming pleased that you had asked.  
  
"I wazzz hatched in the Sinnoh region! This is going to be my first trip around the islands, too!" Rotom admitted, floating along with you sideways so it could look at you while it talked. "They brought me here to Alola to be specially-trained for this job."  
  
Now the little 'Dex was looking proud of itself, an image of a Poke-Olympic gold medal popping up on its screen. You didn't try to fight your smile.  
  
"Hey, I'm from the Sinnoh region too! I guess we'll be making our first lap together," you said. Rotom whirred softly and drifted in a slow circle around you.  
  
"I think I'd like that! Um...what brought _you_ here to the islands, though, Sun?"  
  
Well, that was kind of a tricky one. Family was definitely a part of it, but not the main reason.  
  
"Mmm...wanderlust," you finally decided. You were planning to elaborate on that, but before you could, Rotom tapped on its own screen a few times, scrolling, and then pulled up a dictionary page, reading aloud, "Wanderlust! Noun; a strong desire to travel, strong longing for or an impulse to travel. Zzt-zzzz, I see! Adding 'wanderlust' to my list of terms!"  
  
"You can Google stuff?!" you asked. Rotom flashed you a thumbs-up emoji.  
  
"Of courzzzze! I get a great wifi signal in the 'Dex here, as long as we're not too far out from a city. I can also manage your Pokedex, your map, and take cellphone calls!"  
  
Rotom seemed really excited about its new job. You couldn't help but find that charming. And it would be a great thing to have someone else reading the map from now on, instead of relying on your shoddy sense of direction.  
  
"Wow, Rotom, you're really gonna be the best helper!" you exclaimed, reaching out to give Rotom a friendly pat on the head, watching it load a blush onto its screen for the second time that day.  
  
"A-aw. Shuckzzzz...no wonder the Professor gave me to you! I can tell, we're gonna be great partners!"  
  
_____________________  
  
  
"Rotom, what Pokemon is that?"  
  
The three of you had been walking for a while now, having finally entered an area you hadn't yet visited on Melemele, and you had found yourselves engaged with a wild Pokemon in a field of tall yellow flowers, facing another species that was new to you.  
  
Rotom turned itself around to snap a quick picture of your opponent.  
  
"It'zz...Cottonee! The Cotton Puff Pokemon! When attacked, it expels cotton from its body to create a diversion. The cotton it loses grows back in quickly!"  
  
Rotom excitedly showed you an image of an identical Pokemon, a list of information beneath the image such as type matchups and evolutionary requirements. You nodded and paused to consider the image.  
  
"Grass and Fairy type? We don't have Fairy types back in Sinnoh! Oh, and he looks like a little cabbage," you cooed, turning your gaze back to the real, living Cottonee in front of you. You'd sent Popplio out earlier in case it tried to attack, but so far it hadn't even really _moved_ , just staring out at the group of you with big amber eyes. "Should I try to catch him? Popplio's at a disadvantage..."  
  
"Scanning...scanning...scan complete! This Cottonee is at level _four!_ Popplio is at level _nine!_ You have a 75% chance of victory!" Rotom replied.  
  
"Hell yeah then, let's fight this cauliflower."  
  
Hearing your words and gathering that it was now Battle Time, your Popplio scooted up between the Cottonee and you and struck an offensive posture, barking (fruitlessly) to intimidate his opponent. Unsurprisingly, the Cottonee didn't seem at all alarmed.  
  
"Popplio, use Pound." you ordered. The little seal obeyed at once, and moved with surprising speed towards the other Pokemon, landing a solid smack across the top of Cottonee's head.  
  
"Half health!" Rotom announced. "Watch out for a counter-attack!"  
  
"Disarming Voice!"  
  
As Popplio took a deep breath, preparing his next attack, the Cottonee you were battling finally began to move- or rather, it began to swell. With a sound not unlike a party noise-maker being blown, a plume of cotton and glittering dust erupted towards you, enveloping Popplio and continuing towards the rest of your party. You yelped and jumped backwards.  
  
"Popplio!" you called, and watched the Water-type tip over and collapse, stiff as a board. "Rotom, what-?"  
  
"It used Stun Spore! Don't breathe that in!"  
  
Alarmed, you ducked to the side, fumbling for your Pokeball to return Popplio before the effects got worse. The Cottonee, for its part, settled back down and gave you a very pointed look.  
  
" _Coh-toh! Neeeee!_ "  
  
Rotom gasped.  
  
"That's very rude!" it exclaimed, looking scandalized, and you recalled Popplio with a grimace. Rotom crossed its arms.  
  
"What did it just say...?"  
  
"I...am an upstanding 'Dex Helper, and I will not repeat that!"  
  
"Oh. Jeez."  
  
You looked back to face Cottonee again. Your Pokemon experience was admittedly limited so far, but you'd never encountered a Pokemon with so much attitude before! You almost had to admire it.  
  
"Cottonee, I _love_ your moxie," you said, discreetly reaching towards your belt as you spoke, and the Grass-type burbled softly as you unclipped an empty Great Ball and held it at your side. "So how about...you come with me!"  
  
You tossed the Ball forward at the same time as Rotom called, "Sun, watch out for-!"  
  
The Great Ball hit Cottonee, sucking it inside, and Cottonee's second round of Stun Spore hit you square in the face. You could see Rotom flailing out of the corner of your eye as you unceremoniously toppled backwards. Hard.  
  
_________________________________________  
  
  
"Sun, you need to be more careful," Rotom scolded. Doing its best with its round little hands, it was dabbing at you with a cotton ball held in a pair of tweezers, carefully swabbing yellow dust off of your skin as you sat in the grass. Every few strokes, your limbs would twitch. "It's a rule of Pokemon battling that you don't return your team until the match is over! You could have been hurt!"  
  
"I know, Rotom, I'm really sorry I scared you..." you replied, meek.  
  
You failed to hide your smile, though, and held up the Great Ball.  
  
"I caught it though-!"  
  
Sprawled out in the flowers next to you, Popplio rolled over onto his back to clap, no longer Paralyzed and happy to recuperate in the warm sun.  
  
Rotom tutted at you, but smiled anyway.  
  
"We need to get to a Pokemon Center, zzzilly! Can you move yet?"  
  
You wiggled your fingers.  
  
"I think so! Thanks so much! ...And Rotom, for Cottonee...what do you think about the name Mimzy?"


End file.
